The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the orthopedic treatment of the leg or other limbs of the body and, more particularly, is concerned with a method and apparatus which may be used for therapeutic purposes to promote the correction of knee or leg damage. In its more specific aspects, the invention is concerned with a brace which may be selectively adjusted to impart tension, compressive pulling, and twisting forces to the limb being treated and may be adjusted at any time to maintain the positions required to promote corrective therapy.
The most common type of prior art device used to maintain the position of injured limbs is the fixed cast. Casts are typically applied to the limb of a patient for a given period of time to maintain the limb in a fixed condition. They have the disadvantage that they provide no adjustment once in place and that they encapsulate the limb during treatment so that it may not be observed. The tendons in a limb immobilized by a cast tend to shrink as well as diminish, thereby creating a bend in the limb when it is removed from the cast. In the case of leg treatment, the bend may be to a backward position as much as 30.degree. from straight.
In addition to casts, various types of adjustable orthopedic devices have been provided. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,357,323 and 3,788,307 teach straightening by means of pads which may be extended and retracted by screw adjustments. 1920 German Patent No. 337,258 teaches a mechanism which may be applied to the legs of a patient to apply lateral forces thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 874,446 shows an extensible surgical splint, and 1948 Italian Patent No. 442,755 shows an extensible rod-like orthopedic apparatus, together with pads which may be extended. U.S. Pat. No. 173,051 teaches tensioning by means of an extensible rod parallel to the leg of the patient, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,253 suggests an apparatus which may be used to align fractured bones.
While the foregoing patents are representative of the prior art, they do not teach the unique combination of the present invention, and particularly an apparatus and method which provides for the combined application of tension forces, compressive forces, pulling forces, and twisting forces.